UNISON | Schools Week

REAch2 centralisation plans put on hold by unions

Dispute over funding proposals referred to independent mediator amid fears over 57 jobs

Support staff could strike as unions plan ballots over pay deal

Unison and GMB are urging members to reject employers’ ‘final’ pay offer, threatening walkouts in maintained schools and academies

Support staff unions demand £15 minimum wage and inflation-busting pay rise

Unison, Unite and GMB want a 12.7 per cent pay hike from April – and allowances for all support staff working with SEND pupils

Hardship charities for school staff swamped by demand

Aid groups report rising demand for help covering essentials, as the cost-of-living squeeze hits current and former education staff

Funding formula like ‘Robin Hood in reverse’ as NAO finds cash shifted from poorer areas

The government’s flagship national school funding formula has shifted cash from deprived schools to their more affluent counterparts, sparking warnings ministers are “taking from the poor and giving to the rich”. The National Audit Office today found the national funding formula, introduced in 2018, has contributed to a “shift in the balance of funding” from […]

Schools should be prepared for ‘challenge’ after £95k exit payment cap revoked

Schools should be “prepared for challenge” from former staff who had their exit payments capped after a government U-turn on the regulations. The Treasury faced a legal challenge by unions against a £95,000 cap introduced in November last year, aimed at limiting payouts to departing public sector staff, including those being made redundant. However, the […]

Coronavirus: Unions report academy trust to health and safety watchdog over ‘unsafe’ return of pupils

One of England’s largest academy trusts has been reported to the Health and Safety Executive over allegations it put employees and pupils at “serious and imminent risk” by allowing more pupils to return too early. The David Ross Education Trust (DRET) has also been accused of failing to inform staff at one of its schools […]

Alternative provision academy trust turns to online learning to make savings

An academy trust in charge of 11 alternative provision academies intends to increase its use of online learning as part of a plan to cut more than £2.5 million from its budget, it has emerged. The TBAP trust, which runs AP academies in London, Essex, Cambridgeshire and the North West, is planning widespread cost-cutting measures after […]

Unison: Redundancies forcing school support staff to fill the gaps

Over 70 per cent of school support staff are being forced to take on tasks that used to be performed by a colleague on more pay, as school funding cuts continue to bite, according to one of the UK’s largest trade unions. In May Unison carried out a UK-wide survey of 12,120 school support staff, […]